And there's a difference between illegal and not legally covered. I don't have a full understanding of the laws in place right now, but it doesn't seem like there's an absolute blanket ban on this type of aircraft in the proposed airspace.

No, it's an absolute ban. Basically, the law says that unmanned aircraft have an operator, and that the operator must be within sight of the aircraft at all times. That is, you can use them for aerial surveying and filming sports events and stuff, but they can't be autonomous, and they can't go flying miles from their controller.

(Presumably, the military has exemptions, since they certainly don't follow the these rules).